The Police Command in Osun, on Friday, said it arrested a 50-year-old man who allegedly killed his friend (who was sick) for a money-making ritual.
SP Yemisi Opalola, police spokesperson in Osun, told journalists during the parade of criminal suspects at the command headquarters in Osogbo, that the suspect removed the throat of his victim after killing him.
“On July 18, at 3:00 p.m., the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oke-Odo Division, Osogbo, received information that a Ghanaian man was killed by a yet-to-be-identified individual.
“Police detectives swung into action and through intelligence and investigation, one Kehinde Ganiyu, the intimate friend to the deceased, was arrested.
“Ganiyu confessed to the heinous crime, stating that, on July 9, at about 9:00 pm, he went to the deceased’s residence with a knife, where he met him sleeping because he was sick.
“He said he slaughtered the deceased with the kitchen knife and removed his throat.
“He added further that, he dried the throat for three days before he took it to a bush called Igbo Imese Aiwosi Area, located at Oba-Oke village, where he burnt it in a clay pot with some ritual materials and later mixed the burnt powder with soap for money ritual (OSOLE),” she said.
Opalola said the suspect confessed to having singlehandedly carried out the operation, adding that an investigation was still ongoing on the matter.
The spokesperson also said that the command arrested a 60-year-old blacksmith in Ada town, who allegedly fabricated single-barrel guns and provided ammunition to suspected criminals.
The police spokesperson said that in the process of arresting the blacksmith, two other suspects, believed to be his customers, were also arrested.
She said that two more suspects were arrested in Ikire town for alleged armed robbery and kidnapping, while another suspect was arrested in Ipetumodu for allegedly robbing a lady of her valuables and also inflicting machete cuts on her.
SP Opalola further said that a suspected motorcycle thief was apprehended with a cut-to-size locally-made gun found in his house, while two other suspects were arrested in criminal hideouts in Ile-Ife with two locally made guns.
She said that a medical doctor was also arrested by the command for allegedly raping a woman he promised to provide a job.
Opalola said a herder and his brother were equally arrested after it was reported that money was paid to him to purchase 54 cows, but he converted the money to build a house for himself.
She said that a tiler was also arrested by a police patrol team in Ede town with four bags of cement, which he confessed to having stolen from his building site where he was employed to work.
Opalola said that all the suspects would be charged in court at the conclusion of the investigation.
She appealed to residents to always provide the police with useful information to curb crimes.
